Epilogue: Eternal Flame
I had originally planned to leave this story as a one-shot, but I recently started writing another story and got stuck at a plot point. From there, my mind wandered and this is what came out.
In the months following the reconciliation between Stars Hollow's favorite couple, things between them had been returned entirely to normal. They had made great strides to include one another in their lives, fully and wholly.
No longer hiding his budding relationship with his daughter, Luke introduced Lorelai, in an official capacity, to April. As he'd suspected, the two got along famously, but Lorelai continued to tread carefully. She respected Luke's desire to get to know April on his own and so the arrangement became such that Lorelai no longer needed to avoid the diner when April was around, but she often found herself busy at the Inn until close to dinner time, when she would meet the pair for dinner.
Lorelai, in light of the misunderstanding about her too-close relationship with Christopher explained to Luke the role he played during the debacle at Lane's wedding, after first disclosing the real story. Though the Endless Love ballad narrative concocted by a well-meaning Miss. Patty proved to be a band-aid for the issues surrounding the Gilmore-Danes engagement, Lorelai felt that in the new leg of their journey together, honesty would be the best way to push forward. After a brief argument on the matter, Luke and Lorelai agreed they would no longer hide things from each other (for real, this time). Lorelai was also sure to ask Christopher, the next time he called, to try his hardest to maintain their relationship as nothing other than mutual parents to Rory. Their friendship, though he would never confirm, made Luke uncomfortable.
In short, things were going well. So well, that as quickly as June third came and went, wedding planning had resumed. Sookie, the self proclaimed BFOTB (best friend of the bride) made sure that every detail was perfectly planned. Lorelai purchased a new dress, and a new date was set. On December 9th, 2006 Lorelai Gilmore would officially become Lorelai Gilmore-Danes.
As the fall came and went, Lorelai's anticipation for her upcoming nuptials rose. She found herself following the actions that her mother had described of her own pre-wedding routine, trying her dress on any time Luke was closing the diner, or out with April.
When December 9th finally came and the sun began peeking through the curtains in Lorelai's bedroom, she shifted as her slumber slowly lifted. She brought her right hand to her eyes to wipe some of the sleep away. She used her other hand to reach out for Luke, but she came up empty. Instead, she found a handwritten yellow post-it note. Coffee's made, breakfast is in the oven. Can't wait to see you. -Luke.
Lorelai smiled and swung her legs out over the bed, wearing nothing but her favorite of Luke's flannel, she grabbed a pair of sweatpants from her bureau and put them on.
As she reached the bottom of her stairs, she was surprised to be hearing chatter coming from the kitchen.
"Mom! You're up awfully early." Rory said with a sweet smile.
"Lorelai, you should really have slept a few more hours. You want to look your best today, of all days!" Emily lectured, over her steaming cup of coffee.
Lorelai took in the scene before her, Rory in a set of ridiculous cupcake adorned pajamas and her mother sipping out of a Betty Boop coffee mug, sitting at her kitchen table at seven o'clock ion the morning. "Nice mug, mom. There's a matching spoon somewhere."
"I'm quite fine with just the mug, Lorelai. Would you like some coffee?"
"Absolutely. Luke said there was breakfast in the oven, too?"
"Did you call him?" Rory asked, "I specifically told him no contact until the wedding!"
"No, Officer Krupke, he left me a note. No broken rules, here!" Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled the plate of pancakes out of the oven. "Where's April?"
"Apparently, Jess isn't getting in from Philadelphia until noon, so when Luke was getting ready to leave this morning, April decided to go and keep him company."
"Sweet girl." Lorelai smiled, piling a plate with chocolate chip pancakes.
"Honestly, Lorelai. You aren't going to fit into your dress!" Emily snarled.
Lorelai cut into her pancakes, jabbed one with her fork and looked over to make eye contact with her mother. Emily simply sighed in defeat.
Luke had left the house before sunrise, with all intentions of heading over to the long abandoned apartment above the diner to get a few more hours of sleep. With April in tow, he lugged his tuxedo and a small duffel bag of toiletries up the stairs and set his belongings in the bathroom. After hanging his tux in the empty closet, he walked back into the apartment to find April already curled up on what used to be her bed, sound asleep. Unfortunately, Luke was not having the same luck. As he put his head on the familiar pillow, he found himself immediately reaching for what would be Lorelai's side of the bed.
Since the night of their reconciliation, what seemed like so many months ago, they hadn't spent a single night apart. Though it had taken several weeks for Luke to finally move all of his belongings to Lorelai's house, they were sure to never go to sleep without each other.
A notion that was proving particularly troubling for Luke as he watched the clock strike 5:44.
After breakfast time began to move more swiftly as the pre-wedding activities began. At noon Lorelai, Rory, and Emily met up with Sookie and April to have manicures and pedicures and before their knew it, it was three o'clock and they were getting their hair set. Lorelai had invited Liz and Lane to join in the prenuptial festivities, but both ladies were occupied with their new babies.
Meanwhile, Luke, Jess and TJ (to Luke's obvious dismay) had moved on to the Dragonfly's Groom's Suite, where they spent most of the day sipping beers and teasing Luke for how long it took him to finally get Lorelai to the aisle.
When April was all dressed and ready for the ceremony, she bid the girls farewell and went to join her dad's side of the wedding party. Luke had asked her to serve as his Best Man, much like Rory had in the renewal of Emily and Richards vows.
Finally, seven o'clock approached and Luke and his groomsman were escorted across the Dragonfly property to a stretch of land that only a select few people knew existed up until that point. Though it was generally thought to be too cold in Connecticut for an outdoor winter wedding, Lorelai's careful planning included space heaters and blankets for all of the guests.
Before beginning his descent down the snowy aisle, Luke looked around to appreciate what a wonderful job Lorelai, Sookie, and Emily had done. The aisle marked by candlelit mason jars led directly up to the largest oak tree on the Dragonfly's acreage. He smiled as he noticed Liz sitting in the front row, with baby Doula wrapped in a blanket in her lap. To her left were two empty seats with candles and a single rose on each, a tribute to Luke's departed parents. To Liz's right sat Buddy and Maisy, his parent's oldest friend's. Scattered throughout both sides of the aisle he noticed Lane and her twin boys seated with Mrs. Kim, Zack was waiting just to the side of the altar, an acoustic guitar in hand to play the music for the ceremony. He saw Mia and Howard, Miss. Patty, Babette and Morey. Even Taylor had come. A sense of calm washed over him, as April reached for his hand.
"You can't possibly be nervous, Dad." She deadpanned.
A smile quickly washed over Luke's face, "Not nervous." He shook his head, "This is a long time coming, is all. It didn't look like it was going to happen there for a minute." April offered him a warm smile, just as Reverend Skinner caught her eye. She released her father's hand and instead placed it on his back.
"It's time!" She said excitedly. Luke offered a curt nod and linked his arm around his daughter's. They walked together as Zack strummed his guitar. Jess and TJ followed shortly after.
After a few minutes, Luke began to tense as the bridesmaids began to walk down the aisle. First, Sookie in a flowing chiffon gown in a delicate light blue. She smiled brightly at Luke, before taking her place at the aisle. Rory came next, dressed in the same blue chiffon that Sookie wore. Luke made a mental note to tell Lorelai how beautifully the bridesmaid dresses were turned out, knowing that she'd spent days cutting, sewing and putting them together.
Finally, the music shifted. Rather than the traditional wedding march, Lorelai had insisted on something different. Something unique to her. True to form, Luke chuckled, shook his head and smiled as Zack began playing The Bangles' Eternal Flame. Though he would never admit it, he could easily follow along with the lyrics in his head.
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating? Do you understand? Do you feel the same?
Am I only dreaming, is this burning an eternal flame?
I believe it's meant to be, darling
I watch you when you are sleeping. You belong with me. Do you feel the same?
Am I only dreaming, or is this burning an eternal flame?
Luke could feel tears brimming his eyes when he saw Lorelai for the first time. Her hair long and flowing in loose curls down her shoulders and back, pinned slightly back on one side. Her makeup minimal, natural, just the way he liked it. And her dress, white, at his request, but different entirely than the first dress he'd accidentally walked in on her wearing what seemed like a lifetime ago. This dress was simple, and elegant, and perfect for her. Thick lace all over, a short train, cinched at the waist and delicately flowing out into a subtle mermaid. Lorelai look beautiful as ever, and Luke could not take his eyes off of her.
Say my name, sun shines through the rain
A whole life so lonely, and then you come and ease the pain
I don't want to lose this feeling, oh
Say my name, sun shines through the rain
A whole life so lonely, and then you can and ease the pain
I don't want to lose this feeling, oh
Lorelai walked gracefully down the aisle on the arm of her father, never breaking eye contact with Luke. She could feel the tears slowly falling through her dark eye lashes. It was truly difficult to believe that this moment had finally come.
"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" Reverend Skinner asked as Lorelai and Richard settled at the altar.
Richard smiled down at his daughter and said proudly, "She gives herself, with the blessing of her daughter, her mother, and her father." With that, he brought himself to his seat. Luke reached out for Lorelai's hands, she quickly wiped a stray tear, handed her bouquet to Rory, and gave them to him.
"Welcome everybody," Reverend Skinner began, "We are thrilled that so many of you could make it here today. One of my personal favorite things about a wedding is that it also serves as a reunion of family and friends. It always pleases me to know that people are willing to travel far and wide to be here on a day like this, for an event like this. After all, we all know how long we've been waiting for this day to come." The crowd collectively chuckled.
He continued, "Before we begin, we would like to acknowledge the spiritual presence of some fine individuals. We feel the presence of Luke's parents, William and Katherine Danes, and take joy in knowing how thrilled they would be to see their son marry the great love of his life, Lorelai."
"We all know that Luke and Lorelai have faced tumultuous moments in their love story, but we as the citizens of Stars Hollow have held out hope that one day these two would find their true happiness in each other. Today is that day, and so let us begin."
"Lorelai, repeat after me: I, Lorelai Gilmore, take you, Luke Danes, to be my husband. I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together." Through her bright smile, Lorelai managed to repeat her part without breaking eye contact with Luke. "You may now place Luke's ring on his finger."
"Now, Luke, please repeat after me: I, Luke Danes, take you Lorelai Gilmore to be my wife." Luke straightened up his back, took a deep breath and repeated the words. Reverend Skinner continued, "I promise to always pour the coffee, make you pie, and gripe less about your eating habits."
"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted as the crowd began to giggle.
"Those are the vows, Luke! You said I could help write the ceremony." She winked at him.
"Fine, I promise to always pour the coffee, make you pie, and gripe less about your eating habits. Even though they're outrageous."
"Compromising already, good man, Luke." Reverend Skinner added. "You may now place Lorelai's ring on her finger. By the power vested in me, it is an honor, a pleasure and a relief to finally declare you husband and wife. Luke, you may kiss your bride!"
Close your eyes, give me your hand
Do you feel my heart beating?
Do you understand, do you feel the same?
Am I only dreaming or is this burning an eternal flame?
As Luke pulled Lorelai closer to him, he swiped a stray hair from her face and whispered, "Before this is all final, I just want you to know that I will never stop griping about your eating habits."
"Deal." She said, smiling. They kissed, the crowd cheered, and the rest is written in the stars.
Fin. - For real, this time!
Let me tell you, I was absolutely not planning on writing the wedding, but when the song popped into my head, I had to.
All credit for the words spoken during the ceremonial part of the wedding go to theknot . com
Hope you enjoyed it! xx